'Heartbroken' mother of Ben Needham says UK police have stopped investigating why toddler went missing

The mother of Ben Needham, who went missing as a toddler 35 years ago, says she is heartbroken because has been told British officers are now leaving the matter "solely to the Greek authorities".

Ben was 21 months old when she last saw him on 24 July, 1991.

He was staying at his grandparents' farmhouse in Iraklis on the Greek island of Kos when he vanished.

A decade ago a British detective said he believed that the child had died as a result of an accident involving "heavy machinery".

Now his mother Kerry Needham says has been left "heartbroken and sobbing" because she has been told that South Yorkshire Police's major crimes unit would no longer be responsible for investigating Ben's case.

"This is devastating news," she has told the Daily Mirror. "The case will now fall solely to the Greek authorities.

"If this happens, I feel like I may as well give up the search for Ben because the Greek police have only ever wanted this case to go away."

The South Yorkshire force has told Sky News it is continuing to "allocate resource" to Ben's case in the form of a family liaison officer and a detective acting as a "single point of contact for potential lines of enquiry".

"The Greek authorities have full primacy over the investigation due to the fact Ben went missing on Kos," it added.

"Our role here in South Yorkshire is to act as a conduit between the UK, Greece and any other law enforcement agencies in a bid to secure answers.

"We have written to Kerry Needham to explain this position and offered a meeting to address any concern."

Detectives from South Yorkshire Police carried out a three-week search of Kos in 2016, when Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said he believed Ben "died as a result of an accident near to the farmhouse in Iraklis where he was last seen playing".

This week the force told the Daily Mirror that "if someone comes forward with information in England, we will continue to gather relevant evidence and share this with Greece via Interpol".

But Ms Needham said this "feels like a devastating step backwards".

"For nearly 35 years, we have fought every single day to keep Ben's case alive, to search for answers, and to make sure he is never forgotten," she told the newspaper. "We believe there are still avenues to explore."

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She has written to Sir Keir Starmer to ask for the government's support in the search for her son.

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